Lawmakers reach deal on heroin bills

From left, Senate co-leader Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, leave a news conference after announcing legislation to combat the rise of heroin use in the state in the Red Room at the Capitol on Wednesday, June 18, 2014, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

ALBANY (AP) >> New York lawmakers have agreed on legislation to curb the growing heroin epidemic in New York.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday the eight bills include requiring insurance companies to better cover substance-abuse treatment, creating a statewide public awareness campaign to prevent opioid use and harsher penalties to crack down on illegal drug distribution.

The legislation would also require every anti-overdose kit, which contains the drug naloxone, to include an information card on how to administer the drug and how to recognize the symptoms of a heroin and opioid overdose.

Cuomo, a Democrat, says there were more than 89,000 heroin and prescription opiate treatment cases in New York last year, up from roughly 63,000 in 2004.

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Experts say today’s heroin is cheaper and more potent than it was in the 1980s.

Boy hurt in flying bounce house returns home

SOUTH GLENS FALLS (AP) >> The second of two young New York boys injured when an inflatable play house became airborne has been released from a hospital.

Police in South Glens Falls tell The Post-Star of Glens Falls that the 6-year-old was released earlier this month and is back home. The boy is continuing treatment for two broken arms and other injuries.

He and a 5-year-old boy suffered serious injuries May 12 when the bounce house they were playing was blown into the air by a strong gust of wind. A 10-year-old girl suffered minor injuries after falling out immediately, but police say the two boys were 15 to 20 off the ground when they tumbled out and landed on asphalt.

The younger boy was released from the hospital by late May.

Legislators push for more foster parent requirements

ALBANY (AP) >> New York legislators have approved amending state law to require agencies placing children in foster care first check whether prospective parents have done it before and provided poor or questionable care.

Sponsors say caseworkers sometimes remove children from homes suspected of being unsafe without either revoking the parents’ certificate to provide foster care or reporting them to the state’s child abuse hotline.

Those parents may simply apply to another agency for foster children and get money for their care.

The amendment, if signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would require all foster care agencies check with the Office of Children and Family Services to determine whether prospective parents ever had foster a child removed from their home, evaluate the reasons why and determine if the foster home should be reopened.

Senate approves postponement of disabled care closings

ALBANY (AP) >> New York’s Senate has approved legislation to postpone for two years Cuomo administration plans to close state institutions for the disabled and mentally ill, prompting an outcry from advocates of more community-based services.

The bill, which has also cleared the Assembly Mental Health Committee, would postpone closures and consolidations of facilities operated by the Office of Mental Health and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities until April 1, 2017.

Sponsors say more time is needed to put appropriate safety nets in place.

The New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services says state money should be spent as planned on more housing and clinical services in communities, not more expensive state institutions.

The bill sponsors represent Binghamton, where Broome Development Center is scheduled to close in 2016.